


Disappointed

by sevenstevearmy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:01:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24436312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenstevearmy/pseuds/sevenstevearmy
Summary: Marinette is a goddess we don't deserve (but also v human and makes mistakes). Adrien learns about social interactions. Alya and Nino listen to their friend (eventually). Marinette, Kagami, Luka, and Adrien are my favorite group. Lila gets exposed.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Nino Lahiffe, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Luka Couffaine & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kagami Tsurugi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to put this up before, but was forced to orphan it for my mental health only one or two chapters in so let's try again but this time with moderated comments.

“Marinette, I thought you were going to take the high road. I'm disappointed-”  
“ _You_...”  
“What?”  
“You… Do _NOT_ get to be disappointed in _ME_. Just because _you_ are content to watch our friends get hurt, just because _you_ are content to let her go on for the sake of avoiding confrontation, doesn't mean _I_ am. You have NO RIGHT to be disappointed in me. Both of us knowing isn't enough and never will be. You know why? Because you're Adrien Agreste. She will never threaten you the way she does me, she will never do anything to publicly fall from your grace. You don't get to tell me to sit back and let someone destroy everything I've worked so hard for! You don't get to tell me to let her ruin my life! The only reason I stayed silent for this long is because I admired you. But now I see you're not all you're chalked up to be. You can sit back and not care, but don't lecture me when her lies are an akuma waiting to happen. I refuse to believe you haven't seen how many close calls there were, and if she continues to turn them against me, I won't be able to help prevent the akuma. Now I'd prefer if you'd leave me be.”

Adrien kept playing the conversation over in his head. Had he really missed how much Marinette was hurting? And then contributed to it? Now he had surely lost a friend, and one he treasured so dearly. He really was Adrien Agreste, a stuck up rich kid who didn't have a clue. As soon as night fell he would check on her as Chat. She always seemed more at ease around his superhero persona. To think, the first conversation without a glimpse of a stutter was her yelling at him because he was an idiot. And he was an idiot. Plagg agreed too, though that wasn't an uncommon occurrence. 

“Listen, kid, are you sure you want to meddle? You already made things worse once.”  
“I have to, Plagg. I have to fix my mistake.”  
“If you say so. Just don't try to tell her to take the high road again, or Paris might be down one cat.”  
“I'll keep that in mind.”

When Chat he noticed many white butterflies floating around the balcony and Marinette meditating in an outfit he had never seen before. She had long flowy pants and a loose shirt both presumably made of cotton and her hair was in a bun. Her face was clearly tear stained and he felt a pang of guilt. He had done that. 

“Princess?”  
Marinette responded without opening her eyes, “Hello, Chat. May I help you?”  
“Well, I was just patrolling and I noticed you out here, with all these butterflies?”  
“Since you've probably guessed it already, I suppose there's no harm in telling you. Yes, those were all akumas. Luckily Ladybug was around to purify them as they came. Now I'm meditating in an attempt to not summon any more.”

Chat didn't know what to say. He'd heard that tone around his house many times before, but never from Marinette. She sounded absolutely exhausted. Her voice was low, most likely due to the crying. 

“Akumas?” He asked weakly. He had a feeling in the back of his mind but he didn't want to believe all of those butterflies had come for Marinette. She had never been akumatized and at this point he honestly didn't think it was possible. But he had been the one support she had with the Lila situation, and he gave out, letting her fall. 

“May I ask what made you so upset?” Of course Adrien knew, but Chat didn't.   
“There's this girl at my school. She's a compulsive liar. She's threatened me more times than I can count. She's made it so no one will ever believe me and is starting to turn my friends against me. The one other person who knew, he-” Her voice cracked and she looked like she would cry again, but regained her composure before continuing. “He thinks we should let her get away with it. I just… can't. It goes against everything I stand for. And of course he never gets the same kind of backlash I do, because he could completely ruin her reputation and she will do everything to avoid that. I could have let it happen, and she and I wouldn't have a problem, but while she loves her image sooo much, I'd rather stay true to myself. I'd rather have everyone hate me for me, than love me as someone I am not.”  
“... That's… That's really profound, Marinette. I wish I could have been there to back you up.”  
She sighed. “I suppose that would have been nice, but I don't think you'd have liked to see the way I was. I guess it just hurt so much more coming from him of all people. The only other person who knew, and the person I've looked up to for so long. The person I like. Well, I guess now it's liked, past tense.”

… Marinette… Marinette liked him? And he hurt her and betrayed her. 

“Should I give up on exposing her?”

Chat paused for a minute. She was asking him, trusting his advice. He knew now especially he couldn't tell her to stop. By the sound of her voice she would have if he told her to, but he just couldn't do it. It wasn't right, and even if it was, he wouldn't have been able to stand seeing the end result. He had lost her as Adrien Agreste, but he refused to lose her as Chat, too. 

“No,” he finally replied. “Don't give up. Don't change who you are for her, for him, or for anyone else. Don't think Ladybug and I don't notice the effort you put in for your friends and even strangers. I know you are a good person, so you of all people should stand by what you believe in.”

Marinette finally opened her eyes to look at him and the look she gave him made him melt. He knew he had said the right thing this time. 

“Thanks, Chat,” she said, her voice wavering. “And don't worry, I don't think anymore akumas will be coming for me tonight.”

She finally had her signature smile and bubbly voice back and he was determined to never let her lose those again. Even if he could only ever see her as Chat, he would continue to check on her and make up for what he did, because a spirit as beautiful as Marinette's should never be tainted by pain. She reminded him so much of Ladybug. If he hadn't already decided she couldn't possibly be his lady, tonight he might have suspected it. 

They _chat_ ted a bit more before Marinette had to go to bed and Chat Noir had to go back to being Adrien Agreste. He was not looking forward to school tomorrow. Even if she wanted nothing to do with him, he would do everything in his power to keep Lila away from her. He would obviously try to apologize, but he would understand if it was a long time before she forgave him. Her words had given him something to think about. Maybe he should stop letting things go just to avoid confrontation. Lila was hurting his friends and he knew it but had refused to acknowledge it. He would do whatever he could to fix it, but he knew he had a lot to make up for. 

\--------------------------------

Marinette almost didn’t go to school the next day, but there was a test. She rushed into class just as the bell rang. Mme. Bustier was running late because of a meeting with the principal, so it was her lucky day.

“Gee, Mari, are you sure you should be in school? You don’t look so good.”  
“Thanks, Alya. You always know just what to say.”  
“Aw, c’mon girl. You know what I meant.”

Marinette took her place next to Alya. She and Adrien avoided eye contact. She felt bad about the way things had gone down the day before. She stood by what she said, just maybe not how she said it. They had to talk eventually, but with how she was doing emotionally, if they talked now, the result would be the same. 

Nino looked back at Marinette and could tell something was up. Even when she was tired she would at least have some sort of smile on her face, but today she looked half dead. Alya looked just as worried as he felt. He noticed Adrien fidgeting.

“Do you know what’s up with Mari?”  
Adrien sighed. “It’s… complicated. I don’t think she wants me to talk about it.”  
“... Alright, dude, but if you did anything, you’d better be prepared for Alya’s wrath.”  
“If I ever do anything to hurt Mari, I deserve it.”  
“Ok…” Nino looked back one last time before Mme. Bustier walked in.

“Sorry, I’m late, class. My meeting ran late. Let’s get started with our morning exercises.”

The day seemed to take forever, and by the end of it Marinette was more than ready to go home. The others, including Alya, were all entranced by Lila’s story that could not physically be true, so she walked home alone. At the corner of the school she stopped when she heard someone calling her name.

“Kagami? What are you doing here?”  
“I heard your conversation with Adrien yesterday. I was waiting for him to go to our fencing match when I saw you two… um… talking.”  
“I know you’re probably worried about Adrien because of the way I talked to him, but I _am_ going to apologize. I’m just going to give it a couple days first.”  
“I’m honestly more worried about you. I’ve seen what Lila is like and I heard how she’s treating you. Just know, I’m on your side, and if you ever need anything, feel free to contact me.”  
“Oh… uh, thanks Kagami. I don’t know what to say. It’s good to know that not everyone will end up hating me.” 

Kagami nodded and walked away. Marinette continued home feeling somewhat better knowing someone was on her side. She had always thought Adrien was, too, so she wondered what changed. Were their values just fundamentally different? When she got home she rushed upstairs to avoid her parents seeing the state she was in. Her concealer had worn off throughout the day and she looked like more of a mess than usual.

“Tikki, what do I do?”  
“About what, Marinette? You have to be more specific.”  
“I don’t think I can be. Lila is slowly turning everyone against me and I can’t get anyone to understand where I’m coming from. They all think I’m jealous. Only Alya and Nino take pity on me and that’s not going to last much longer. At least Chloe doesn’t like Lila either, but she also doesn’t like me, so that’s not much help. Now I know I have Kagami on my side, but I’ve lost Adrien. I don’t know what to do!”  
“Shouldn’t your friends know you better than that? If this is really something you feel obligated to pursue, you should make sure they know you’re serious.”  
“You’re right, Tikki! But how do I get them to believe me? I can’t use Ladybug to tell them, that would be irresponsible, and this is Marinette’s problem, not Ladybug’s.”

She sighed. Why was this happening? She tried her best her whole life to be a good person. Had she messed up somewhere along the line? She knew she kept phrasing it as exposing Lila, but if she was given the opportunity to change Lila’s mind about lying, she would do it in a heartbeat.

“I suppose I had better start this project that Mme. Mendeleiv gave us.”

Tikki could see the toll this all was taking on Marinette. Teenagers could be so cruel to each other. She was contemplating what to say next when she heard a knock on the skylight. She had to hide! Marinette looked confused and opened the hatch to find two green eyes staring back at her.

“Chat? What are you doing here? Isn’t it a little early for patrol?”  
“Well I had to see how my princess was doing after what happened yesterday.”  
“Thanks, Chat, but I’m a little busy.”  
“Really? What with?”  
“Well I have to do this project that’s really meant for two people to do, but no one wanted to partner with me, so I don’t really have enough time to do it as it is.”  
“What if I helped you?”  
“What? You would help me with my chemistry project?”  
“Sure. It’s one of my best subjects, right up there with calculus and myself.”  
“Oh, ha ha Kitty. And as for yesterday’s situation, things are looking up, at least a bit. A girl overheard me and is taking my side.”  
“You’re really committed to exposing that liar, huh.”  
“If I could find a way to get her to stop without doing that, I would, but I’ve already tried that, and all it did was make her hate me. I’m sure she’s just insecure, or scared to be herself, or maybe she just needs attention, but she’s hurting people, and that’s just not ok.”  
“Well, if you ever need back up, or someone to talk to, how about I give you my email?”  
“Really? Won’t that endanger your identity?”  
“Nope. This email is super secret and no one in my civilian life knows about it.”  
“If you’re sure, I guess.”  
“I am. So what does this project of yours look like?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild Luka appears.

Marinette decided to invite Nino and Alya over that weekend to try to clear things up. As soon as Lila overheard it, she decided to throw a big “exclusive” party that the whole class, minus Marinette, got invited to. The couple asked Marinette for a raincheck. She didn’t bother telling them she hadn’t been invited. Then Lila would have put on a show inviting her, only for her to turn it down and look like an even bigger jerk. Lila made her miss when Chloe was her biggest problem. While everyone else was at said party, she decided to take a walk by the river. She ended up sitting on a bench for a while before she felt someone sit down next to her.

“Hey, Ma-ma-marinette.”  
“L-luka! Hi!” She had not been expecting to see anyone.  
“Isn’t your whole class at some party?”  
“Uh, well, see… I wasn’t exactly… invited.”  
“Huh?” Luka was shocked. He knew Marinette was class president and generally well liked. He had heard something about her and the party-thrower not quite getting along from Juleka, but he hadn’t thought it was this bad. “Why didn’t you get invited?”  
“Well see, Lila and I don’t exactly get along.” She really hoped Luka wouldn’t push this. She didn’t know what Juleka had told him.  
“Why not?”  
Dang it. She couldn’t lie about it, not now. “She’s a compulsive liar and I’m the only one who knows it and isn’t willing to put up with it. And now she’s turning everyone against me. I… I have almost no one left who is even willing to talk to me. They all think I’m jealous,” she finished with a whisper.  
“You know, you don’t seem like the type to get jealous, and I’ve seen you at work before, standing up for what’s right. I know the tune of your heart beat, and I believe you.”  
“R-really, Luka?” She managed to get out on the brink of tears. She did not want to cry again. Not like this.   
“Of course, Mari. How could anyone be so blind as to think otherwise? You supported Adrien’s date with Kagami, didn’t you?”  
“Thank you.”  
“Don’t mention it. Do you want to come listen to me practice guitar?”  
“I’d love to.” 

They sat together and Luka heard her song get just a little lighter, that is until the notifications started flooding in. Everyone was enjoying Lila’s party and posting all about it, especially Alya. Marinette watched a video Alya posted on her Insta story with Lila claiming they were the best of friends and Alya saying nothing to correct her. Marinette’s song tanked into a dark foreboding number based on a minor key. It mirrored her usual bright and happy tune in a way that made Luka feel sick.

“Marinette?”  
“It’s fine. If she wants to be best friends with Lila that’s fine. She probably didn’t even notice I wasn’t invited. But it’s fine. I’m fine.”  
“You don’t have to hide what you feel from me. I already know. And while you’re not fine now, I know in the end you will be better than that.”  
Marinette sighed. “You’re right. I just don’t want to get akumatized over this.”  
“Why don’t you turn your notifications off and just relax for a bit. If you want to, we can talk through it later.”  
“Thank you so much Luka. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

\-------------

When Juleka came home Luka was waiting for her. He was determined to get down to the bottom of the situation and hopefully get Marinette some of her friends back. Juleka trusted what he had to say. Once he heard someone’s song, there was no denying that he would never make a wrong judgement about them, and when he said Mainette didn’t have a single malicious note, Juleka believed him. That’s not to say she thought Lila was in the wrong either, but rather that it was a misunderstanding that was taking its toll on both parties.

\-----------------

Marinette decided to take the advice Luka gave her and put her emotions into an expressive outlet, in this case, designing. She put all of the anger, sadness, and hurt into making a dress that was a little more avant garde than she normally went for but turned out well regardless. When you first looked at it, it was red and dark and spiky and not quite something you’d want to get near, but the longer you looked, you could see the deep blues and purples beneath as well as a bit of green begging for attention. She looked at it one last time before going to see Master Fu. She had to tell him about all of the butterflies that had come her way.

“So that’s what happened. I understand if you don’t want me to be Ladybug anymore.”  
“Marinette, sometimes our emotions overcome us, and that’s ok. It is not your fault that Hawkmoth is terrorizing the city and taking advantage of your struggles. What’s important is that you fought the first one off long enough to purify it and then remained vigilant for more. You are dealing more than someone your age should ever have to. I will not take Ladybug away from you unless you truly want to give it up.”  
“I don’t! I love being Ladybug. I’m able to help so many people, and what about Chat? He’d go ballistic if I quit on him. Plus, I do rather like seeing him on patrols, even if he can be a bit much during fights.”  
“Then it is settled. You will continue to be Ladybug. Do not worry Marinette. Things will turn out for the best. They always do with Ladybug’s luck involved.”  
“Thank you, Master.”  
“It was my pleasure, Marinette. You should return home now to rest and possibly eat something, too.”  
“Will do.” Marinette was back to smiling.

\----------------

On Monday, Marinette miraculously made it to school on time, though she wished she hadn’t. Everyone was talking about the party that everyone but she and Chloe were invited to, not that either would have gone anyway.

“Hey girl! You’re actually on time today! I have _got_ to tell you about Lila’s party! Once you two start getting along better you should come to one, too!”  
“I doubt it.”  
“Come on, don’t be like that. Lila wants to be friends with you! She was so sad you didn’t come!”  
“I wasn’t invited.”  
“You were too! Lila showed me your invitation!”  
“I never got it.”  
“You did too! Why are you being like this?”

Juleka started to hear what was going on which further supported her theory of a series of unfortunate misunderstandings.

“It was probably lost in the mail,” she tried to appease Alya while still believing Marinette. “It was probably an accident and misunderstanding.”  
“I guess…”

Lila picked then to arrive and Alya ran to her, excitedly talking. She had clearly mentioned her earlier conversation as Marinetter got a glare sent in her direction, unnoticed by the others. The gears in the liar’s head were already turning on how to make Marinette pay for that.

Lila walked into class ahead of the rest of them with Marinette trailing behind. “Miss Bustier! I don’t mean to be any trouble but-”

‘As if’, Marinette thought. Lila went on about her supposed tinnitus and how she would need to move to the front and be with someone to help her take notes because of her ‘wrist injury’. Marinette wasn’t going to bother with this one and just wanted to take her seat and get ready for class.

“Lila could sit with Adrien! And then Nino could sit with me since she’d be taking his seat.” Alya called out.

Marinette’s mouth dropped open and Adrien knew he had to do something. 

“I don’t know, Miss Bustier, I miss a lot of classes for photoshoots so I think someone else would be a better candidate to help with notes.”  
“Well sure, but I still need to sit in the front instead of in the back.”  
“I’ll switch with you then. You can sit with Nino. He has better handwriting than me anyway and I don’t mind.”  
“Very well then,” Miss Bustier looked around. “Any objections?”

Marinette blinked. That wasn’t quite what she expected, but she guessed it was fine and sat down. It was a bit later while Alya and Lila kept passing notes while ignoring her that she realized it was very not fine.

“Girls? Is there something you would like to share.”  
Alya flushed bright red. “No, Miss Bustier. Sorry.”  
“It’s my fault really. I just wasn’t quite understanding the lesson.”  
“Miss Bustier, if I may?” Marinette asked.  
“Go ahead.” she nodded.  
“Maybe Alya should sit with Lila. I think it would be easier so they wouldn’t have to pass notes. Nino could sit in this row and Adrien and I could switch seats.”

She never thought she’d give up the seat she had fought for, but at this point, was it even worth it? Alya had been ready to send her to the back anyway and she wanted to be as far away from Lila as possible while doing the least to anger her in the process. Exposing her would take time and she didn’t want any distractions before then.

“That’s ok, Marinette. I don’t have to move. You can just sit with me,” Adrien spoke up. “Unless you’d prefer to sit alone.”

Marinette wasn’t sure what to do. She was still mad, but she could figure that out later. Right then she just wanted to move.

“Ok… As long as that’s alright, Miss Bustier.”  
“If it will make things easier then that’s fine, but do be quick. We have a lot of material to cover today.”  
“Yes, Miss Bustier.”

They went about swapping their seats again as Lila glared back at Marinette.

“I need to talk to you at lunch,” Adrien whispered, getting a glare in response. “Not like before. I want to apologize.”

Marinette changed expressions to a wary look and nodded.

\-----------

“Adrien! You’ll sit with us at lunch, won’t you?”  
“Actually I’m going with Marinette for lunch today. I have to talk to her. Maybe next time,” he turned to Marinette. “You ready?”  
She still looked skeptical but nodded.

\---------

“I know I messed up. I thought I knew what was best for the situation, but I’ve realized that school is different. It isn’t the same as the events I go to or even my house. I’m used to people like that, but you aren’t, and neither are they. They don’t know not to believe her or to not take everything at face value. I know now that my actions hurt you, I hurt you, and that’s not ok. If you can’t or don’t want to forgive me I understand. I don’t really know that I deserve it. I do want you to know that if I had known she was threatening you, I would have never said what I did, which was stupid advice anyway. I was stupid. I hope you forgive me, but I still understand if you decide not to.”  
Marinette pondered his apology for a bit. “I can understand where you’re coming from, and as far as apologies go that’s one of the better I’ve heard. I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you just yet, but I really appreciate it. I think we can share a desk at the very least. In the meantime, we’re going to have to educate you on how normal interactions work.”  
“That would actually be pretty helpful.”

\-------------

That night Marinette heard another knock on her balcony door.

“Chat again? Tikki what did I do to catch his attention?”  
“Well he did see you surrounded by butterflies that were meant to akumatize you.”  
“Ok, but that was days ago. Why is he here now?”  
“He just wants to look out for you. Now open that door before he cataclysms it open.”  
“Fine.” She opened the hatch. “Hey Chat. What are you doing here?”  
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to visit the princess in her lonely tower.” Chat gave his signature grin.  
“Don’t remind me.”  
“Oh… Sorry.” he winced.  
“It’s alright, Chat. I’m actually doing alright. The guy who told me not to go after the liar realized that she was hurting me and apologized. I’m actually really happy about that. I’m glad I could at least keep one of my friends. Plus this other guy I know helped me a lot this weekend. It’s just nice to feel supported, you know.”  
“Yeah. How’s that chem project coming?”  
“It’s actually coming along quite nicely. Thanks for the help.”  
“No problem. I still say you should just bring in a picture of me and my lady.”  
“This teacher would not appreciate that.”  
“Well I guess not everyone can appreciate good comedy.”  
“Sure, but how would you know? Have you ever seen any?” Marinette smirked.  
“You wound me, princess! My jokes are the cat’s meow!”  
She just couldn’t resist. “Are you sure you’re not the cat’s meow, then?”  
It took Chat a minute to realize what she meant before looking utterly scandalized.  
“I’m only kitten around,” Marinette put her hands up in defense.  
“You got me.”  
“I thought it was a bird’s job to be so _gull_ ible.”  
“You’re on a roll.”  
“Actually, I think you’ll find I’m on a chair.”  
Chat laughed at that one. “So you are. Oooohhhh! What’s this I see?”  
Chat had spotted the vent dress she made. “Oh, well that other friend suggested I release my emotions into a creative outlet so I could interact with them without getting akumatized.”  
“That’s pretty smart. This is also a really cool dress.”  
“You think?”  
“Definitely. You’re really talented.”  
“I don’t believe in talent. Talent is something people say exists so that their position doesn’t become challenged. Sure, I had a knack for designing, but what got me here was hard work and practice. This is a skill, and just like any other it can be improved.”  
“I see. That’s a good way to look at it. You must be proud of your work.”  
“I am. This one is a little unusual for me, though. I normally only put happy moments and feelings into designing, but this felt good to make.”  
“Well I’m glad. I should get going, but remember if you need anything, just email me.”  
“Will do, Chat.”


End file.
